Folding knives commonly have lock mechanisms such as a lock back bar which may be pivotally attached to a first transverse region of the handle (also referred to as an upper region) of the handle. Lock back bars in general and have a longitudinally forward region which engages a blade and more particularly the tang region of a blade. The tang region of the blade is a surface which generally has a portion that is at least partially curved, having in some forms one or more recess portions. The recess portions can generally be such that the blade can be biased to merely reposition the lock member to somewhat restrict the motion of the blade, or there can actually be a notch-like mechanism to lock the blade in an open orientation.
Oftentimes a lock back bar is configured similar to a first-degree lever where there is a pivot attachment in between the tang engagement portion of the lock back bar and the user engagement portion, which in one form is a portion of a lock back bar configured to be depressed, which is usually in the longitudinally rearward portion of the handle. In other words, the lever-like action by pressing the lock back bar at the user engagement portion disengages the tang engagement portion of the lock back bar from the tang of the blade.
Certain prior art devices have been utilized for disengaging a lock member from the blade. References such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,201 show a folding knife where the actuator means is a pushbutton device which engages a bar spring in a manner such that an oblique surface repositions the bar spring to disengage the tang portion, and more particularly the lock notch indicated at 32 in that disclosure.
Other references show types of disengaging members, such as U.S. Pat. No. 5,442,855 which shows the concept of a pushbutton mechanism which engages a pivoted flexible leaf-like member which has an upper portion that engages a spring biased locking strip.
Other references show different ways of disengaging a lock mechanism, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,985,998 which shows a release lever in FIG. 2 which is pivotally attached to the blade and a projection 34 is configured to lift the locking lug.
Therefore, there is an absence of the concept of a lock release mechanism which in one form can be utilized in one or two modes. One mode involves engaging the lock bar itself, or alternatively engaging a release lever to disengage a tang engagement portion of the tang of the blade. In other forms, as disclosed herein, an engagement surface configured to engage the lock bar is disclosed herein, and in one form having a release member that is pivotally attached to the handle along a lateral axis is shown with a lateral engagement member extending through a surface defining an opening in the handle. Therefore, repositioning the release member provides engagement of a cam surface of the release member to the lock back bar to disengage the tang engagement member of the tang of the blade.